ER-4's are definitely not the ugly monster everyone seems to refer to them as. Think about it: when they're in your ears, you only see the black tube stick out, and they're angled correctly for most wearers I think. They're ugly ducklings with swans hidden inside.

When I...

...used to wear Audio Technica ATH-W100's, I used to sort of want myself, just by association. I would sit in front of the mirror in awe of what I was looking at. They command awe, fix attention and hypnotize with their visuals like a fine woman, to my eyes, and they especially look good while you wear them (unlike some headphones *cough*stax*cough* in which you look like a major nerdbomber). They "worked" on my head in every visual way, I just wish they were more sonically versatile!

AT really does make a stunning line and the W100's are no exception, despite their "lower-end" construction (compared to W1000's, etc.) Disregarding that limited sound versatility, they are just beautiful pieces of work.